You receive money from the US
As a freelancer, through your company at home or as a licensor. Your US client, the platform or the bank asks for a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, and you want to fill it in correctly.
Who it's for
For anyone with money flowing between the US and Europe.
Your US company pays abroad
Royalties, interest or dividends to your company at home or to you. Then it has to check whether to withhold, and report the payments to the IRS.
You are planning a contract
Before you sign a license or loan agreement with a US party, you want to know which rate applies under the treaty and what the form needs to state for it.
You have just received a form
A W-8 from an American client, agent or platform, and you are not sure what is being asked of you. More on the form: IRS W-8 forms.
Four fixed fees
From a single form to the annual package.
Four services, each for a fixed fee. The smallest is a single form, the largest is the annual package for a US company that makes regular payments abroad.
For recipients
W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E
$550per form
We prepare or review one form: W-8BEN for individuals, W-8BEN-E for entities such as your company at home. With the treaty article and rate wherever you claim a reduced rate. You hand it to the payer.
Order form →For US companies
Annual return 1042 and 1042-S
$1,250per year, up to three recipients
Form 1042 for the company and one Form 1042-S per recipient, to the IRS and to the recipients, by March 15. Even if nothing was withheld because of the treaty.
Order annual return →Before the contract
Written treaty assessment
$1,450per assessment
What type of income it is, which treaty article applies, which rate applies and what the limitation on benefits clause requires. A written assessment based on the information you provide, not a legal opinion.
Order assessment →All year round
Annual package
$2,450per year
Your recipients' forms, the annual return 1042 and 1042-S, and reconciliation with your Form 5472, so both returns show the same payments.
Order annual package →More than three recipients or prior years: fixed fee after review. Tell us the number of recipients and the tax year when you order, and we will quote the price before we start.
When your US company pays
Withhold, report, by March 15.
According to the IRS, whoever has control over a payment to a foreign person is the withholding agent, usually your US company. It is itself liable for any tax it should have withheld, regardless of the recipient's own tax position.
Every year it reports the prior year's tax on Form 1042 and the payments to each recipient on a separate Form 1042-S. Filing and delivery to recipients: by March 15. From ten information returns a year, electronic filing is mandatory; according to the IRS, Forms 1042-S for 2026 go through the new IRIS portal.
01Before the paymentForm W-8The recipient gives the payer their W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E before the payment. The form goes to the payer, not to the IRS. It remains valid until the end of the third calendar year after signing, as long as nothing changes.
02At paymentWithholdingThe payer withholds the rate shown on the form. Without a form, it may have to withhold 30 percent.
03By March 15Form 1042 and 1042-SAnnual return to the IRS and a Form 1042-S to every recipient. Form 7004 extends the deadline for Form 1042, but not for payment; Form 8809 gives you 30 extra days for the 1042-S.
04Filing lateIRS penaltiesFor a late Form 1042: 5 percent of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25 percent. For each Form 1042-S for 2026: $60 if filed within 30 days after the deadline, $130 by August 1, and $340 after that.
Sources: IRS, Withholding agent; Instructions for Form 1042 (2025); Instructions for Form 1042-S (2026); Instructions for Forms W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E (October 2021). Accessed October 22, 2026.
Reconciliation with Form 5472
One payment, two filings, one amount.
When a foreign-owned US company pays its owner or another related party abroad, the same payment shows up twice: on Form 5472, for example as royalties, interest or service fees paid, and as US-source income on Form 1042-S.
In the annual package we reconcile both filings: same amounts, same recipient. Form 5472 itself is part of your annual return, for example the zero tax return for your LLC or the corporation's year-end filing.
Questions
Questions about the W-8, withholding tax and Form 1042.
Do I send the W-8 to the IRS or to my tax office at home?
Neither. According to the IRS, you give the form to whoever asks you for it: the payer, the platform or the bank.
W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E: which one do I need?
The W-8BEN is for individuals, the W-8BEN-E for entities such as your company at home. If you are the sole owner of a US LLC that is not treated as a separate entity for tax purposes, the IRS treats you yourself as the beneficial owner, so you complete the W-8BEN in your own name. We work out the right form with you.
How long is the form valid?
Until the last day of the third calendar year after signing, as long as nothing changes. A form signed in September 2026 is therefore valid until December 31, 2029. If any details change, you need a new one.
What happens if I don't provide a form?
Then, according to the IRS, the payer may have to withhold 30 percent. That's why the form belongs in place before the first payment.
Does every payment abroad go on a Form 1042-S?
No. According to the IRS, foreign-source income generally does not go on the 1042-S. US-source income does, even if nothing was withheld because of a tax treaty.
Do we need Form 1042 as well as the 1042-S?
Yes. According to the IRS, anyone who has to file Forms 1042-S also files Form 1042, whether or not tax was withheld.
Do we have to file electronically?
Yes, from ten information returns a year, and always for financial institutions. According to the IRS, Forms 1042-S for 2026 go through the IRIS portal. We file electronically.
What does a late filing cost?
For Form 1042, according to the IRS, 5 percent of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25 percent. For each Form 1042-S for 2026: $60 if filed within 30 days after the deadline, $130 by August 1, and $340 after that or if it is incorrect.
Is the treaty assessment a legal opinion?
No. It is a written assessment based on the information you give us: which income, which article, which rate, and what the limitation on benefits clause requires. In the end, the IRS decides on the tax.
Can you file for past years too?
Yes. After a review, we quote you a fixed fee based on the number of years and recipients.
Do you work with my accountant?
Yes. We send your accountant the forms and filings, so the numbers match at home and in the USA.
Where did the W-8 service go?
It's the first service on this page: one W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E form for $550.
